Burbank couple goes on Jurassic Park – The Ride a record 62 times and then get engaged at Universal Studios Hollywood

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Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon set a new park record for Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park–The Ride a whopping 62 times in one day and during their record-breaking final ride, Elston proposed to Leon, his girlfriend of two years. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

Burbank couple Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon now hold the new park record for riding Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park – The Ride 62 times in one day and during their final 80-foot plunge, Elston proposed to Leon and she said “yes.”

Elston and Leon, who are originally from Irvine and Costa Mesa, respectively, actually broke the record during a 13-hour visit to the theme park on July 17. Universal Studios Hollywood just released a video of the couple’s record-breaking ride and proposal via YouTube, days before Jurassic Park–The Ride goes extinct on Labor Day and begins to evolve into Jurassic World Ride, opening in 2019.

“We went to Universal Studios for Chelsea’s birthday one year and we had so much fun riding the ride, we thought, ‘We should set a record for this thing’,” Elston said during a recent phone interview.

Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon set a new park record for Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park–The Ride a whopping 62 times in one day and during their record-breaking final ride, Elston proposed to Leon, his girlfriend of two years. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon set a new park record for Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park–The Ride a whopping 62 times in one day and during their record-breaking final ride, Elston proposed to Leon, his girlfriend of two years. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

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Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon set a new park record for Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park–The Ride a whopping 62 times in one day and during their record-breaking final ride, Elston proposed to Leon, his girlfriend of two years. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon set a new park record for Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park–The Ride a whopping 62 times in one day and during their record-breaking final ride, Elston proposed to Leon, his girlfriend of two years. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon set a new park record for Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park–The Ride a whopping 62 times in one day and during their record-breaking final ride, Elston proposed to Leon, his girlfriend of two years. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon set a new park record for Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park–The Ride a whopping 62 times in one day and during their record-breaking final ride, Elston proposed to Leon, his girlfriend of two years. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon set a new park record for Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park–The Ride a whopping 62 times in one day and during their record-breaking final ride, Elston proposed to Leon, his girlfriend of two years. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

Devin Elston and Chelsea Leon set a new park record for Universal Studios Hollywood’s Jurassic Park–The Ride a whopping 62 times in one day and during their record-breaking final ride, Elston proposed to Leon, his girlfriend of two years. (Photo courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood)

They looked it up and realized that a record had already been set at 60 rides.

“Then our competitive side came out,” Leon said.

Elston is a web designer and Leon works as a recruiter in the beauty industry. The couple has been together for two years and met via a dating app. During their very first meet up, they discussed the movie “Jurassic Park. Elston also told Leon about a road trip he took across the U.S. shortly after leaving his job at Hulu. He stopped at various theme parks along the way and hit up Universal Studios Orlando, where he first rode Jurassic Park –The Ride. He remembers having photos of him riding the attractions solo, which he kept as mementos.

Now, he has 62 photos of Leon sitting in various rows and striking a variety of poses as they sail down the 80-foot waterfall at the end of Jurassic Park – The Ride in Hollywood, which the park put together for them in a booklet.

Elston said it all started with a phone call to Universal Studios’ general customer service phone line when he wanted to inquire about breaking the record and later he let them in on his idea to turn the record-breaking event into a proposal.

“It really blew my mind constantly how phenomenal everyone at the park was,” he added. “Everyone at the park is amazing. We love going there particularly because of the rides, but also because we have such great experiences with the park employees. Leading up to it I was super nervous, like what if someone ruined the surprise or something would get in the way of messing up the record. But in the days afterward, I just kept thinking, oh my goodness, there were so many people that put so much effort into making this amazing thing happen.”

Park staff members even donned inflatable raptor suits to cheer on the couple as they tried to break the record. In a total of 13 hours, they said they went four hours straight without taking a break during one stint, riding and exiting for safety reasons, and then just getting right back on. They took a total of three breaks throughout the day, during which they swapped out T-shirts, got snacks and water.

“We were on a mission,” Leon said with a laugh.

Living through the attraction’s final drop 62 times wasn’t a problem, they insist, however with the waterworks on full blast their fingers started to get pruney and they got cold.

“It was really hot that day so I think they told us they had the water features set at ‘wetter than ever,’” Leon said.

Just before their record-breaking 61st ride, Elston suggested they change shirts one more time, to some exclusive Jurassic Park – The Ride T-shirts they had printed up for the occasion. They had pre-planned to come down the drop and open up their yellow rain jackets to flash their shirts at the camera for their final photo.

“I had no idea that my shirt didn’t match Devin’s shirt,” Leon said.

When she got off the ride and the crew cheered as they beat the record, Leon took a look at the video screen showing their photo and saw that Elston’s shirt actually read ” Chelsea will you marry me?”

“Oh, shut up,” was her initial reaction.

“I just found it so hilarious and so very detailed and it was perfect,” Leon said.

Elston presented her with a replica prop can of Barbasol from the “Jurassic Park” movie, which is a prototype donated by Universal Pictures specifically for him to use in the proposal. Inside the can was a custom-made amber ring with a tiny mosquito inside of it, which was inspired by the amber rocks from the “Jurassic Park” films.

“It was all very true to the movie and true to our relationship because we are goofy,” Leon added.

The couple aren’t sure how “Jurassic Park” will be incorporated into their actual wedding, but they’re open to suggestions.

“One of our mottos is to embrace your ridiculousness,” Elston said. “If Richard Branson wants to send us into space, we’re open to that. We’ll get married in space.”

Universal Studios Hollywood

Where: 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City

When: Open daily; Hours vary by date

Tickets: $105-$116 single-day general admission tickets; $179-$259 Universal Express; $329 and up for the VIP Experience; $129-$159 two-day general admission at 866-258-6546 or UniversalStudiosHollywood.com.

Kelli Skye Fadroski lives for entertainment. She’s worked at The Orange County Register since 2006 and has covered all things music, stand-up comedy, horror and more. When she’s not out reviewing a concert or interviewing some random famous person, she’s catching up on episodes of 'The Walking Dead,' somewhere sampling craft beer, enjoying Taco Tuesday or yelling at the contestants through the TV on 'Celebrity Name Game' for not knowing basic pop culture trivia. She’s also a diehard Detroit Lions fan.